David had spent most of Monday in his room, either napping or trying his hardest to get through some of the work he had been set for summer school, he had spent more time internally debating if it was required reading or homework, than he had spent actually reading Of Mice and Men and trying to write an essay about some character called Curley's Wife, all he had managed was a sentence saying that it was bullshit that she was named like a possession of her husbands, he thought it was all that they needed, but according to the essay guidelines it was meant to be longer. He had opened his math booklet and closed it immediately, and had written an entirely made up life story for the founder of Storybrooke, the latter of which was more a protest that he had been given an assignment about someone he had never even heard of who had founded a town he had been living in for less than a month.

He had barely seen Robin, he had been there, but only physically, he made sure David took his meds when he needed to, he made sure David ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he stuck his head around the door at some point in the late afternoon to make sure that David had been doing schoolwork like he said he had; but there had been no calling him 'Sunshine', something which David would never have imagined or would ever admit missing, there hadn't been constant helicopter parenting, not that he had noticed anyway, there had only been five 'how are you feeling''s in the morning, and he hadn't demanded a more in depth answer than whatever David had mumbled in answer.

Robin was clearly avoiding him.

Okay David was avoiding Robin too, but that wasn't the point, Robin was clearly mad at David, and David didn't even have the beginnings of an idea of how to fix it.

It was after dinner, where Regina had done most of the heavy lifting in terms of conversation, that David went back up to his room, telling Regina he was tired when she asked him to stay and they could watch TV, he even declined Henry's offer to play videogames in the younger boy's room. David wanted to be alone, he didn't want to be downstairs, or even awake, should someone appear at the door again.

He took a shower, he didn't bother to style his hair, instead he flicked on the tv, trying to find anything to watch, he gave up and left the tv on to play some movie which was already halfway through, he threw the towel into the hamper before returning to sit on his bed.

The envelope hadn't been touched, he had been planning on giving it to Robin today, saying he hadn't opened it, that he didn't want to open it, didn't want to know what was in it, he didn't care about Francis, even if the thought of him made David's blood run cold; but Robin was mad at him, and two could play that game.

David carefully opened the envelope, doubting himself as he did, maybe he should just leave it be, it seemed like a much smarter solution… Two long rectangular pieces of paper came out of the envelope, one rather thin, the other on thick paper which David assumed was more expensive than the clothes he was currently wearing.

His choice for which to read first was settled when the thinner one fell out of his hands and onto his bed.

The expensive paper was thick and smelt vaguely of cologne which was too musky for David's tastes, not that he wore any himself, he liked whatever it was Robin had which smelt like the forest, or maybe it was just Robin.

Dear David, I hope that this makes some amends for the birthdays and holidays I have missed in your life. Please assure your father that it comes without a price from me, it is a gift, and though I do hope to get to know you better this is not a payment or bribe towards that.
Your Grandfather,
Francis Jonathon William Locksley III

David's brow furrowed at the couple of sentences on the paper, neat blue writing with plenty of loops and embellishments, it wouldn't have looked out of place on an olde timey document.

$3,000.

That was what the cheque said, he read it once, twice, three times, counting the zeros again and again, rereading the words just as many times.

It didn't make sense, this guy who he had barely said five words to was giving him thousands of dollars, that there was no catch. There had to be, there was no way someone would give away so much money, even if he looked like he could easily spare it… David couldn't accept it, he shouldn't have even opened the fucking envelope, he should have given it to Robin; sure they'd been avoiding each other but….

David let out a loud sigh, half hoping that Robin would be lurking outside of his door and would hear and come and fix this, take it off of David's hands, but despite waiting three whole and silent minutes, his dad didn't swoop in and save the day. David tried his best not to resent Robin for that, and then tried his best not to resent himself, for becoming so useless so fast; like a feral kitten domesticated to the point of no longer being a cat.

He stuffed the letter and the cheque back into the envelope, he wasn't going to be part of this, he refused to be a pawn in the game between Robin and Francis, he swiped his way through several inane cellphone games until he heard every last person go to bed, he tiptoed down the stairs and placed the envelope on Robin's desk, before heading to bed himself, knowing that he would have a night full of nightmares and trying to stay quiet enough that he didn't wake Regina and Robin. It was no longer David's problem, he wasn't going to be involved in Robin's family shit.

David's leg ached as they sat around the table, breakfast foods in various plates and dishes in at each of their places, David wasn't hungry, he had tried to tell Regina and Robin that, but he had been told in no uncertain terms that he would be eating a slice of toast and a bowlful of fruit salad at the very least. He pushed the fruit around his dish, having eaten all of the toast, other than the crusts, he had a soul after all.

"Eat your fruit David."

David kept his eyes on the bowl in front of him as he rolled his eyes, not bothering to look towards Robin, who was just as distant this morning, if a little more harried looking at having to be the lone parent that morning, thanks to an early morning meeting Regina had. "I am." He didn't look up but he could tell that Robin was also rolling his eyes.

"And take your pill, sooner rather than later," Robin carried on, trying to ignore how much of a teenager David was being, he'd already had Henry being a teenage, two in the matter of as many hours was too much, "we'll be going not long after breakfast, it needs time to work, don't think I haven't noticed you rubbing your leg."

"What?," David finally raised his head, a look of confusion mixed with sleepiness filled every line and crevice of his face, "Where're we goin'?"

"We've been talking about it all breakfast."

David could see Robin's squinted eyes looking him over, as though something was broken in him, just because David hadn't been interested or awake enough to deal with Henry and Robin's tense not-argument,
"I don't bother to listen when you're talking."
He didn't mean for it to come out quite so dry as it did, it had meant to come out as a joke, but David wasn't in the mood to be dealing with someone who had practically avoided him for an entire day, and sure David had been avoiding him back, but that wasn't the point.

"Rolo and Go have swimming lessons, you and Henry aren't staying home alone so you're coming with, we need to pop to the store before to get them new cozzies, and then we have some errands after."

David's frown deepened, not just at the words which didn't mean anything to David, but at the firm tone Robin was using as though David had been arguing with him, not just the joke David had tried to make. He wanted to go back to bed and stay there until the next day, or maybe until Robin was done being pissed at him, maybe he'd just sleep through the next three years and he'd be an adult and he could leave, he could find a home which wanted him.

"Meds David."

David didn't bother to argue, he tipped the pills from the tiny plastic cup into his hand, then took them one by one, each with a swing of orange juice.

"Dad-"

" -Henry ." Robin warned, not unkindly.

Henry held up is hands in surrender but continued regardless, "I'm not trying to get us to stay home, but-"

"Hen-"

"- but maybe me and David could go around the town while they're having their lessons? We could go to like the game store, and stuff, I have my allowance, and we'll just be bored, the pool will be boiling."

Robin sighed gently, he could see his son's eyes on him, and his older son's eyes kept flickering up then down to his hand when he saw Robin eyeing him, he didn't want any of his children out of his eyesight even knowing that Francis had gone back to New York. He knew that it wasn't fair to take his own anxieties out on his kids, and he was trying not to, but he knew Francis brought the worst out in him- his anxieties, his mental distance in the aftermath of his father's drop in. "I…. I suppose it'll only be a couple of hours," he said slowly, watching Henry's face light up, luckily Roland and Margot weren't complaining, if only because they had been looking forward to their swimming lessons, "David?"

"I'll go with Henry," he said without hesitation.

Robin forced himself not to sigh, "Okay, but you're both texting every half an hour, a minute late and I'm calling you, both of you, got it?" Henry nodded his head, and after a pointed stare from Robin David nodded too.

It wasn't long before the family were climbing out of the car, into the summer sun, Margot and Roland were begging Henry for something as David tried to pull his crutch from the car where it had slipped and gotten stuck.

"Goddammit," he grumbled under his breath, pulling harder, letting out more grumbled swears under his breath, hidden by his panting.

Robin moved fluidly around David, and gently moved the crutch so that it could be lifted out, a more careful approach, he took in the purple bags under David's eyes, and how pale he looked, before passing the crutch over waiting for David to slip his good arm through and lean on it. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"I don't wanna be stuck in a pool."

"I wouldn't have pushed you in," it was meant to be a joke but somehow it came out almost as an accusation, he hadn't gotten much sleep either, he opened his mouth to say so but David rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

Robin sighed, "Yeah. Look, you get tired, you take a seat, whenever and wherever, and if you can't walk around anymore you text Regina or you call me, I'll get Regina to pick you up early for brunch."

"I can do this," David said more to himself than to Robin, his hand went into his pocket of his shorts, the pocket containing his old cellphone, he needed it today, even if it was made redundant, he had Robin's old one in his other pocket.

"Yeah," Robin reached into his own pocket, pulling out several notes, "here, your allowance, you can spend it on whatever - anything age appropriate," he quickly amended, "snacks, comics, books, anything like that, if you get clothes or things for your room bring me a receipt and I'll reimburse you; Regina and I are paying for that, got it?"

"...Why're you…?"

"It's allowance, $15 a week, spend it all, save it to buy bigger and better things, it's up to you. You're gonna be getting it every week, this is the money you should've got the past few weeks."

David swallowed letting his eyes fall, remembering the money James would steal from Ruth or from strangers, giving some to David and calling it allowance, before he had taught David to swipe money himself, obviously. "Thanks Robin."

"You don't have to thank me…," he hesitated, "you sure you don't want to come hang out at the pool? I'll buy you an ice lolly - a popsicle."

David shook his head, he could tell Robin was still holding him at arm's length, he'd rather limp around this town than this, it was more painful than he would ever admit.

The town was prettier than David had assumed it would be, especially in the sun, Henry chattering about the latest comic book he was going to get, both of them had popsicles in their hands, Henry a red one, David green. The sun was hitting the town, warming David's skin, making his day feel now quite so bad.

"What're you gonna get?"

"Er…, I don't know," David admitted, the money was in his pocket, it felt as though it was burning a hole in it, he wanted to spend it, to splurge for once, "Maybe we can go to that game place you told me about? I need to find a game I can whoop your ass at." He smiled as his brother laughed, he knew that it was unlikely too, his best possibility of winning would be a game so simple that Henry would be too good, he laughed with his brother knowing it was impossible.

He thought of his other brother, the one who used to be older and taller than him, the one who had known that they weren't brothers at all, but had always been at his side, often reading a book he'd shove into David's hands if there were any other teenagers around, "Are there any bookstores?"

"Yeah, that's where I'm getting my comic from, let's go there first, do you wanna get a comic?"

David gave a half shrug as he slurped the last of his popsicle into his mouth, then pushed the wooden stick into one of the public trash cans as they turned off of the small street onto Main Street, all of the stores down here had pastel siding, David knew this street, that it wasn't too far from Dr Hopper's office. He smiled softly
"I don't know, maybe you can help me find some?"

His hopeful question seemed to mean the world to Henry who began to chatter about DC versus Marvel, it was clear that he favoured the latter, David already knew that he'd choose any Marvel comics Henry picked out for him, maybe he'd try and find some of the books James had liked to read, none of them survived the crash, James had always tried to get David to read them, he hadn't got around to it, he could imagine James now, laughing that it took his dying for David to accept his advice.

Several stores later David had a bag full of some old Nintendo games clearly nobody wanted, a few comic books Henry had decided that David would enjoy, two books one which he knew his brother had read and enjoyed enough to keep it in his meagre belongings every place they went, and one which was on sale and looked pretty cool.

Most of his money had been spent in an art store, an art store David would have happily spent all of his time in.
It had been deceptively large inside, twisting and turning aisles, like a labyrinth, there were wooden shelves painted a deep black, but that only served to bring out the bright colours of the paints; more shades than even David could have imagined, let alone named- acrylics, oil, watercolours, gouache, even spray paints. There were pens, pencils, crayons, pastels, paintbrushes, markers, everything and anything David could imagine. There were art magazines and books, some about famous artists, some about how to draw comics or on how to become an expert at shading, he let his fingers trail the spines of the books, before making his way to the sketchbooks.

There were so many types, sizes, differently bound some moleskin some paper, the paper inside was different types for different types of art.

He eventually picked out a pack of two moleskin sketch pads, one a travel size one the other normal, they were majorly discounted as they were ever so slightly damaged just the covers, he grabbed another discounted pack of sketching pencils of various grades, in a dented tin box, he stared at the paints as he noticed Henry heading to the checkout, a book thin book in his hands.

David could have lived in the store, but he knew Henry was wanting to head to the bookstore and Henry and he had been having a good day, David didn't want to make a single misstep, so he got into the queue behind Henry.

An elderly lady was at the till, he had heard her talking animatedly to Henry, who was flicking through his book, David handed his things over.

"You're new, aren't you?"

"Er, yeah, I'm, I moved here a few weeks ago."

"He's my brother, Ms Tilbrook," Henry called over, not even bothering to take his eyes off of his how to guide.

"I thought that," she told David, it didn't surprise him, he knew that he was the talk of the sleepy town, "you look just like your father."

"I do?" David couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow, she smiled in a knowing way even if he didn't quite believe it, "I didn't realise he came here."

"Quite often," she smiled, "for your grandmother, she was a lovely lady wasn't she? I was sorry to hear that she passed away."

David just gave a small nod, he didn't fancy getting into his whole life story, and that he had never met his grandmother, he had heard she was nice though, so she was probably right.

"What materials do you favour?"

"Er," David ran his hand through his hair, "I like paints, acrylics, but I mostly just sketch; I'm not that good, but I like it, y'know."

"It doesn't matter if you're good or not," she told him sagely as she reached behind the counter, her hands making noises as they moved unseen things around, "only that you enjoy it." She slid a box of acrylic paints into the paper bag she had placed his other items in.

"Oh," David quickly shook his head, "I didn't, I don't have enough money for those."

She ignored him as she rooted for something else next to the paper bag, she found a slip with a plastic card on it and slid it, along with a pen, across the counter to him, "Here, sign here and I'll scan it and you'll get thirty percent off, as well as the welcoming paints."

"I don't.." David tilted his head in confusion as he looked down at the card, a black card with the white outlines of different art mediums along with the store name and a long number on the front, he didn't understand there had to be some sort of catch or signing up fee. "Really? I just have to sign this, there's no like...?" he tried to find the words without making it sound like he suspected her of scamming him or something.

She simply gave a soft chuckle and handed him a pen, "There's no hidden charges, or scams," she assured him not unkindly, "it's a membership card it'll earn you point which you can spend in the store, you'll get some special offers, a birthday treat, it's just a way that we get more people into the store."

David hesitated for a second but he took in the elderly lady's kind smile and he obliged, filling out the details on the card the card was stuck on; he slid the card back.

"Oh, you forgot to put your last name, honey."

The card was slid back to him, and David's pen paused on the blank surname slot, he wasn't a Nolan, both technically or internally, de Vane was nowhere near who he was Mallory or Ruth be damned, he thought about Robin clearly mad at him for something out of his control, but he also thought of Sunday, before Francis turned up and ruined it all, it wouldn't matter, not really, only David would see this card, so he wrote down David R Locksley, in his messy scrawl, the last name looking foreign to him.

The paper was taken from him, filed away as she told him that he would receive his official card, with his name on it, would be mailed to him in a few days. David handed the money over, surprisingly little after the heavy discount from the card and the discounted items.

Henry and David continued their walk through the town, David let Henry handle texting Robin when they were meant to, not only because he didn't want to really talk to him, but also because walking with the crutch made texting on the go almost impossible, David hated having to stop for breaks as it was, if he was having to text Robin they'd be having to stop even more often than they already were.

Along with his art supplies, book, and comic, David picked up a few discounted games for the DS Henry had given him, and found a poster for a small English band Jamie had introduced him to, he couldn't help but buy it, bittersweet feelings filled at the poster and the memories of his big brother.

The last store was a small candy store, both boys only having a few dollars each left, the store seemed like something out of Harry Potter, wooden shelves lined with glass jars of candy of various colours and types, what couldn't be contained in jars were on the lower shelves, cans of sodas of flavours only Willy Wonka himself could have dreamt were in mini fridges at below them both.

David grabbed a lollipop for each of his three younger siblings, settled on a small box of dark chocolates for Regina, he settled on a bag of English clotted cream fudge for Robin not knowing what he could get that he would like. He didn't know what made him want to give them all treats, but he did, so for once he didn't question his own thoughts, instead he grabbed some of the weirder sounding candy and chocolate for himself and paid.

By the time they had left the store David felt as though he could fall asleep on his feet, well maybe on the sidewalk, he didn't think that his leg would be holding him up for that much longer. He collapsed onto the bench outside of the 'Ye olde sweet shop', as Henry stood texting on his cell and David allowed himself to lean over and hold his head with his hands, his eyes staring at the grey sidewalk for only a second before squeezing them shut.

"David, are you okay?"

He made a humming noise before realising that it wouldn't be enough to solve Henry's worried voice, "Yeah, yeah, my head just hurts a bit, I just need a second, I'll be okay after. Sorry."

He heard Henry talking on his cell, too quiet for David to make out the words, and he didn't really care to either, instead he was trying to will his headache away, and when that didn't work for some reason, he began to plot having to get to the pool, wherever it was, where Robin would hopefully have some pain pills he could take, maybe he could curl up in the car and nap until everyone was ready to head back.

He felt a foot collide with his own, his head shot up, it wasn't his sore leg which was the only relief, but there was a shot through his heart, like a pre warning of the possibility of his other leg being hurt, as his head shot up his leg slipped all the way back so it was mostly shielded by the underside of the bench.

In front of him were three teenage boys, they didn't look familiar to David, but he also hadn't been paying much attention at school the other day, they seem to recognise him though.

The tall boy at the very front grinned at him, he was tall and broad shouldered, his brown hair styled religiously, not a hair out of its place, he was tanned and was smirking in a way which wasn't friendly, but couldn't be classed as mean either. He looked a little familiar, the more David looked at him, before David had a chance to say anything the boy's mouth broke into a smile and he spoke, his accent the same as the rest of the people in the town.

"I thought that was you! The new kid right, the one who freaked out in school the other day! Hey guys see I told ya," he turned his head to his friends only for a second before grinning back at David. "That was pretty funny, you should have seen the teachers face, we've all been tempted to just leave mid lesson, props to you for actually doing it." he laughed. "You hate the school that much already, you made your mind up about it pretty quickly."

David opened his mouth to try and find his words but he found his heart beating fast, and his mind clear of any cool retort or anything to say.

"Hey what's your name anyway, I don't... Daniel, right?"

"David." David's voice sounded dry and meek even to himself. " I didn't, I just had to go."

"You had to go? Why? The teachers seemed okay with it, what'd you say, we might need to use that excuse next time I wanna skip, right guys?" He turned his attention back to his grinning cronies, both looked a lot like the first guy, whose name David still had no idea, he also had no idea what to say, he opened his mouth, to try and ask, or to figure a way out, when another voice joined the fray.

"Seriously, Herc?" This new voice was more familiar to David, the female voice, soft in general but there was a steel edge, hinting at an inner strength, David looked towards where the voice came from, a short girl, his age, with short hair, a sweet smile on her face but it was fake, David knew that much, and it wasn't directed towards him, it was directed to 'Herc'.

Walking beside her were another couple of girls, and Henry, looking guiltily at David, as though it was his fault that the guys had walked over, David felt bad that he made Henry look like that, all because of his freak out at school, Herc wasn't wrong about that .

"Mare-"

"Don't call me that." She pulled the closest boy across away from David's bench and a little down the sidewalk, as expected Herc's cronies followed suit, with one of the girls glaring at them, while the other was seemingly unaware of David at all, her eyes were for the blonde guy at her side alone.

Mary's voice dropped but not nearly loud enough for David not to hear, "You said you were going to leave him alone."

Herc's voice was just as 'quiet', "What? I was just asking him a couple of questions, you saw him freak out in class, and you won't tell us what happened when you went after him, I was just asking him. Maybe I could have helped him out."

"There is absolutely nothing you could do to help him, Hercules Angelos."

David sucked in a breath, forcing himself to look away from the group of teenagers to Henry, who looked sheepish, "Sorry," he said at the same time that Henry said the same.

"I was just talking to my mom, she said we could meet her at her office, dad can pick us up from there, it's not far if you can walk, but I can call her back and she'll come pick us up."

David watched him hold up his phone, the evaluating face so similar to Robin's that David quickly shook his head, despite the flare in pain in his head, swiftness was key to this David had quickly learnt, "I can walk, let's go, yeah?" He stood up as fast as he could, gathering his crutch and grabbing for his bags.

"I'm sorry," he told him as soon as they began to walk.

"You didn't do anything."

"Yeah, I… they came over because when I went to school I freaked out, I ran out of class, locked myself in a supply closet, they came over to see what happened, I'm sorry I don't know if-"

"I already knew, mom and dad didn't tell us but I overheard, they were both really worried about you. You have nothing to apologise for, Mary's boyfriend's cool but he's kinda a jerk. What happened isn't your fault, and it's none of their business, if they think it is then they're not worth it."

David came to a stop, "That's… really wise. You're a smart kid."

"Thanks," Henry grinned, "it's what mom and dad told me when kids at school realised I was adopted."

"Oh. Were they…, did they give you shit?" David frowned before adding, "do they still give you shit?"

"Nah, it's all good."

"Okay," David said slowly, "if they start again though, tell me, yeah, Jamie taught me how to throw a punch or two."

Henry grinned at David, he was about to ask him to teach him, and to ask him what else his brother/cousin had taught him, but Mary Margaret came down the street towards them, not just walking but walking to them, Henry saw David turn his head to her when she reached them, his cheeks had gone slightly pink, and it wasn't from the sun. Henry looked from his big brother to the girl who Henry had known his whole life.

"Hey," she was ever so slightly breathless from rushing to catch up with them, "I'm so sorry about Herc, he can be a bit… a little boneheaded, I think it's all the soccer he plays, it can't be good for the brain," she gave a little laugh, but only Henry smiled, David looked… scared?
Clearly he hadn't wanted or expected her to catch up to him, she didn't blame him, the first time they'd met was when he was having an anxiety attack and locked in a supply closet, the time after that was about a minute ago when her boyfriend was being an asshole.
She held out the book in her hand, "I think this fell out of one of your bags."

David accepted the book, tucking it back into the bag from the bookstore, making sure it was safe and secure, "Er, thanks."

"No problem, that's a good book, you'll have to tell me what you think about it."

David glanced down at the bag in his hand then back up at Mary, "Er, yeah sure."

"Cool," she smiled at him, she could feel a slight heat in her cheeks, probably from rushing after them, she glanced back to her friends and boyfriend, then back to Henry and his brother, "I guess I'll see you around."

"Er yeah, sure," he cursed himself internally, did he only have one thing he knew how to say? "Thanks for the," he held up his bag of books, "y'know."

"No problem," she pulled Henry into a quick hug, I'll see you soon, Hen," she debated doing the same thing to David but knew it would be weird, and wondered why she had even debated it, "I'll see you, David."

"Y-yeah," David managed to say when she was already walking away, "C'ya." He looked at Henry as the pair began to walk again, the younger boy was grinning at him, David couldn't help but blush, and grimace ever so slightly, "Shuddup," he murmured without any heat, Henry just laughed.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," Henry mimed locking his mouth with a key.

And despite the raging pain in his head and leg, David couldn't help but smile.

They were let right through to Regina's office when they got to her building, David's head was hurting so much that he was having to squint away from the lights, and his limp was even more pronounced than before. Henry led the way, knowing his way off by heart, he continued to glance back at David as they walked, and David was too tired and in too much pain to even care.

"Oh honey, come inside, lie down on the couch, I've made it as dark as I can, Henry told me your head was hurting."

David allowed Regina to lead him inside of her office and onto a small couch, he sat with his head down and eyes squeezed shut, he looked up when he heard footsteps inside of the room, Regina was alone, "'m sorry, you 'ere probably busy," he could hear his words slurring together from sheer fatigue, despite his best efforts.

"I'm never too busy for you honey, ever , understand?" She watched his go to nod but before she could warn him he grimaced in pain, as she expected. She grimaced in sympathy, "Lay down, David, shut your eyes, Robin's phone's turned off but Henry's walking to the pool to track him, we'll get you your medicine, and get you home." She perched herself on the coffee table when David stayed upright, running his hand through his hair in the same way Robin did when he was troubled.
"What's wrong?" he looked up and met her eyes, they were unguarded for once but sad, sad in a way which was more than just the physical pain. "You can tell me, you can talk to me about anything, but I know that somethings wrong, I can see it in your eyes."

"He's mad at me," he paused as he mentally corrected himself from saying the words 'my dad' out loud, he was currently trying not to even think about it, "Robin, he's mad."

Regina frowned, "Did something happen this morning?"

David shook his head and for the millionth time regretted his decision to be a dumbass, at this point it might just be innate not a decision at all, "Sunday, his dad."

Regina sighed sympathetically, "He's not mad at you honey, trust me, he's not mad at you. He's distracted, he didn't want you to have to ever meet Francis, he's angry at Francis, and is going all 'Papa bear' protective over you. When your dad's angry he gets withdrawn, but his anger's not at you, at all."

She took in his face and gave him another sympathetic smile, he was Robin's son through and through, even if there were strands of her former best friend sewn into him. "You two are too alike sometimes, you can blame him, he's more of an idiot than you," her voice was full of love despite her words. She stood up and dropped a kiss onto his mussed curls. "Lay down, dear, get some sleep, or at the very least rest."

David hadn't slept, but he also hadn't been perfectly conscious, he had been half asleep, waking up fully when he heard voices joining him in the room, they left again and David fell back into his half sleep, he woke up feeling his hair being stroked, if he hadn't been in so much pain he might have falling back asleep, this time a proper sleep, instead he hesitantly cranked one eye open, Robin was looking down at him, his face mapped with lines from his frown. He opened both eyes, knowing Robin had already seen signs of him awake, he couldn't fake sleep now.

"I need you to sit up, kid, I've got your meds and some water, let's get these down you then I'm helping you to the car, I think it's naptime for you."

David groaned as he sat up, Robin's hand on his back, when he was upright the hand stayed there, rubbing small circles, "Brunch? 'gina 'nd-,"

"No brunch today, Sunshine," he cut in, grabbing the cup of water from the cooler, and the two tablets he had prepared, "Gina's taken the kiddos so you can have a bit of peace, I'm gonna get you home."

David gritted his teeth and let out a small sigh, he took the medicine with a swig of water and handed the water cup back to Robin, he had screwed up again, he couldn't even…

Robin chucked the cup into the small trash can across the room then stood up, "Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?" He watched David's face scrunched up and tilt to one side, that adorable puppy dog look, the look he much preferred to the shamed look he had plastered on his face, which had only gotten worse when Robin mentioned them skipping brunch.

"You can't…. I'll... I can walk," he bit back a sorry at the end of it.

"Uh huh… sure…"

Robin may as well have carried him to the car by the end David was leaning on him so heavily, it should have been a relief that David was so light, but it just added to his nearly insurmountable worry when it came to David. He helped David into the car, placing his bags of whatever he bought down near his kid's feet, as soon as he had and looked up he saw David's head tilted towards the door, his eyes closed, already falling asleep, the small walk and the medicine had knocked him out. Robin tugged the seatbelt across him and clicked it into the lock. He spent a minute to just look at his kid, only fifteen, too old for his age… and his baby face and his curls.

Robin knew that he only had a few more chances to get this father business right, he had to stop messing up, he had to try and sort out his own past without worrying David about the certainty of his present; Regina had made that much clear to him.

He double checked that the seatbelt was secure before closing the door as gently as he possibly could.

When David opened his eyes again he was in his bed, tucked in so tightly he could barely move an inch. He forced himself to move a little, to loosen the covers enough that he could sit up when he was ready. His body was aching, but the sharp shooting pains had dulled to a constant and low level pain, and his headache was nearly completely gone, even if his head felt as though it was full of cotton wool.

There was movement at his side and he turned his head enough to see Robin at his side, reclined in David's desk chair, one foot resting on his knee, a book in his hands. He must have felt David looking or heard him, because he blinked and placed the book on the bedside table, no longer reclining; he helped David sit up, before sitting forward in his own chair.

"How'd I get here?" David asked eventually.

Robin raised a single eyebrow, a small smirk on his lips, "I told you I could carry you," he let out a small laugh at the shocked then embarrassed look on David's face. "You were dead to the world and you needed to sleep, and you needed to sleep in your bed."

David rubbed his hand over his face, "'kay," he said not knowing what if anything else he could say.

"How're you feeling?"

David shrugged, "Better than I was."

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have made you walk around the town it was too much-"

"-No," David interrupted, surprising even himself, "I liked it, it was, it was fun, I really liked it," he thought about the mocking gang of boys, but he also thought about Mary, Mary Margaret as Henry had told him, he would shoulder that gang and the pain for the kindness in her eyes when she spoke to him.

Robin tilted his head, but then smiled softly, "Okay, maybe for a little less time next time."

They both fell quiet for several minutes, in their own thoughts, neither a comfortable nor an uncomfortable silence.

"I came up here to see you when I got back from my run, the other night, after my father decided to pay a surprise visit. Gina told me that you'd just taken one of your strong anti-anxiety pills, when I got up here you were asleep, I just sat on the side of your bed for a while, I wanted to make sure you didn't have a nightmare, or… I don't know, I just wanted to make sure that you were safe."

There was a pause and David knew that it was for him, the opportunity for him to make a joke, for him to tell him that he didn't care, that it wasn't enough, but it was, it was more than David would ever expect, to have Robin watching over him, whether he needed to or not. So he didn't say anything, letting Robin continue.

"I felt bad, I still do. I should have been there, I should have calmed you down, I should have stepped up… So I sat watching you, just… I wanted to make sure Francis didn't trigger a nightmare…. I think I kind of hoped you'd wake or have a nightmare so I could make it up to you," he ran his hand through his hair, sending an apologetic look to his son, "So I could calm you, like I'm meant to be able to. I'm still trying to figure it out, how to be your dad; I didn't want you to see me how I was, what I turn into whenever I see my father… I was an angry kid, an angry teenager, I acted up and messed up, and whenever I'm near him it's like I turn into that again…"

David watched him let out a heavy sigh, he felt as though he needed to do that himself, he felt wound up tight, as though with ribbons or wires.

"I didn't want you to see me angry, I didn't want you to be scared of me, I needed to run it off, but I should have told you that then, not leaving you to try and guess what's going on. I know that you get stuck in your head when it comes to this, I'm the same, I don't want you to be like that, like me. I'm really sorry I messed up Sunshine."

"You didn't mess up," David told him quietly, "I mean not really. We were both kinda avoiding each other yesterday, I could have, should have talked to you, you could have come talked to me, we both kinda messed up. At least Archie will be happy we realised that… that we both messed up."

Robin let out a breath of laughter, he smiled softly yet with pride at his son, "Gina tells me we're alike, sometimes too alike.

"She told me that too," David smiled taking in the pride in Robin's smile, it made his heart swell, "But she said you're more of an idiot than me."

Robin laughed, rolling his eyes good naturedly, he couldn't fight the smile on his own face seeing the life and cheekiness in David's smile, "You've still got time to outdo me. She knew me when we were teenagers, I was definitely an idiot then, I'm trying my best not to be one anymore… Lately I seem to be failing at that, when it comes to me and you, I guess we're not the best at communication."

David shrugged but realised he was simply proving the point, "I guess."

"But we can work on that, right Sunshine?"

"I hate that nickname."

"Nah," Robin grinned, he had seen the look on his face hearing it, "you don't."

David continued to smile and didn't disagree, slowly his smile faded and after a brief lull in the conversation he asked, "Is he gonna come back?"

"Probably," Robin admitted, he didn't want to lie to his son, not about this, "I'm not letting you near him, if you want to get to know him I… you can write letters or something, I don't want him near you."

"I don't want to get to know him. He's… I don't know, I don't remember everything about my-, about Robert, but I think he felt a bit like him, he was different but… yeah. I don't want to have anything to do with him. That's why I left that envelope on your desk."

"Ah, yeah, about that." Robin grabbed the novel he had been reading and grabbed a small booklet from the back, he handed it over to David. "Francis has given all of you kids a certain amount of money, and as much as I dislike him, he doesn't' lie about the money having no strings attached, it's yours. I set up your bank account today, there's a card there for you to get money out or to pay for stuff or whatever, maybe you can put in some of your allowance, save up for the future, for college, or for whatever you need, me and Regina have put some money in for you too."

David opened the booklet and frowned at the number, "I can't... this is too much," he couldn't take his eyes off of the money, he tried imagined what James would have said about it, he had always told David if they got enough money they'd run somewhere until they found a home, just the two of them, James wouldn't have even been able to imagine this much.

"It's not, Sunshine, it's some birthday money, some Christmas money from over the years, we owe you it."

"You don't owe me it," David looked up, "you didn't know about me so you don't owe money for the missed time."

"Sunshine…" Robin shook his head with a soft smile, "you're a good kid, and you're keeping the money, and you're going to figure out what you want this room to be like, we're doing it up," it wasn't a new suggestion but David hadn't made any indication of wanting to decorate it, "As for the rest of the money, the one from your most recent birthday…." He reached into the side table drawer, trying not to laugh at the look on David's face when he brought out a wrapped box, a red bow and all.

David unwrapped it slowly, a plain brown box, he looked to his father, who gave him a 'go on', look he opened the box to find a brand new phone and airpods neatly tucked into the box, and a small box of candy filling the last of the space, "A… a phone? That's… this is like brand new!"

"Yeah…" Robin said slowly, the word 'duh' unsaid, "We just about missed your birthday, or both of them the real one and the not, it's from me and Gina, I'm pretty sure your siblings are planning on get you some stuff too," he warned, "We weren't sure what to get you, but we thought you should have something better than my old phone. It's on the family plan, so don't go over your caps, but you're going to be going to school soon, you'll need something to keep in touch with us, and most the other kids will have a phone like this," he didn't want his kid to be the odd one out, "If you want a different one we can go to the store and change it, or-."

He was cut off by David practically launching himself at him, wrapping his arms around him, Robin's hand went to the back of David's head straight away, stroking his hair slightly when David carried on the hug. "I'm gonna try harder, Sunshine, you deserve a good dad."

David breathed in the smell of Robin, the mixture of a forest and chlorine from the pool, and some presumably expensive aftershave, nothing like Francis, it was simply Robin , "You're pretty good at it already, I don't have any, like, experience with parents… but you and Gina are… you're good."
He was rewarded with a kiss to the top of his head, the same as Regina had done, he remembered James doing it when he was worried, and Ruth sometimes, rarely but in her quiet sad moments, when she looked like she wanted to tell him something….

She could have told him about Robin, he could have had this years before, he was tired of being mad at her, for today at least.

"Hey I got you something too," David said smiling as he pulled out of the hug and climbed out from under his bed covers.

"Yeah?" Robin grinned, knowing David needed to move on.

"Yup, where're my….?"

"On the desk," he watched as David stood up, limping deeply as he walked from the bed to the desk, restraining himself from helping him. "You can show me what you got, then you're having lunch, Sunshine, you need to eat with your meds."

"Yeah, dad," David said so quietly that only he heard, he had rolled his eyes playfully, enough to tell himself that it was just a playful saying. He pushed it to the back of his mind as he hunted for Robin's fudge.